'Spy vs Spy' is, no doubt, one of those episodes that Paul Gross would characterise as 'a lark'. It is an unashamed romp, full of gloriously bizarre references that make a devotee's day. The world according to Fraser has never been more full of startling weirdness - including his assertion that the Dave Clark Five were not simply a pop group! The yellow rubber ducks make another appearance (after 'Burning Down the House', he now has one in his office as well). Ray's hair concerns are absent-mindedly addressed by Fraser with a phrase that has already become a saying around my house. We learn that the turtle and the wolf are natural enemies (brilliant work by CKR in this scene), that the Yukon Mounties have devised a non-intrusive method of diagnosing stomach contents, and that the said method was the worst thing Stan 'had ever glimpsed'.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of this episode, however, was the casting of Martha Burns as a mysterious Russian agent, and Maury Chaykin as - well, as an actor having the time of his life, in hilariously surreal scenes that parody every spy and action movie ever made. Martha gets to tote a gun and speak with a Russian accent, and far from her husband handing her a 'sexy screen siren' role, he actually jumps onto her from the top of a container (Hmmm. Is this Canadian foreplay?)
My one reservation about the episode was the ballet sequence - the audience sshhing! Benton was fine, but Fraser on stage was a little too farcical for my taste. It was considerably ameliorated by the headlines in the next day's paper, though.
The new season seems to have an extraordinary amount of quirky ideas and good lines, and CKR is not so much fitting in, as carving a niche of his own in the due South legend. PG continues to shine. it is difficult to overestimate how well he plays this part. On a scale of 1 to 10? About 7.5, and in the Maury Chaykin sequences, a 10!
I think she did a good job. I won't be surprised to see her in a James Bond film playing either a good girl or a bad girl. Keep up the good work!
For those of you die-hard Due South fans, here's something that you should have or already noticed. There is a tv extra in Spy vs Spy. It comes from the evil spy's name, Nautilus. If you lived in the States, you should know that Nautilus was the name of Capt. Nemo's submarine in the story "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." In March of 1997, Paul Gross starred in the CBS remake of that story. He played Ned Land, the nice-looking harpoonist. I don't know if it was Paul's idea to put that name in the episode, but I think he was in a way plugging that particular movie and it just worked so well in the episode.